_________________ FREEPORT _________________
your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
and AUGUST 31, 2023
HERALD
with a focus on:
Wellness
Vol. 88 No. 36
Kutz for Edu event at Trimz
library Card Signup Month
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AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
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New year brings new beginnings at schools By MoHAMED FARGHAlY mfarghaly@liherald.com
Courtesy Freeport Public Schools
Freeport public schools superintendent Kishore Kuncham and education board president Maria Jordan-Awalom greet new teachers during orientation for the 2023-24 academic year in Freeport.
As summer winds down and the anticipation of a new school year sets in, Freeport Public Schools welcomed its newest teachers August 21 during the 2023-24 new teacher orientation at Caroline G. Atkinson Intermediate School. Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Special Projects, Benjamin Roberts opened the first day of the week-long orientation we l c o m i n g n ew t e a ch e r s a n d wished them well as they start the new school year. Continued on pAge 10
A mission to create affordable senior living in Freeport By MoHAMED FARGHAlY mfarghaly@liherald.com
Levittown-based D&F Development Group has set its sights o n a d d re s s i n g t h e u r g e n t demand for affordable senior housing on Long Island. The developer is planning a $44 million project to provide secure and comfortable living for lower-income people ages 55 and over on church property in Freeport. D&F is acquiring roughly two-thirds of a .98-acre parcel owned by the Refuge Apostolic Church of Christ, at 106 Broadway, for the development. Notably, the church will remain
unaltered, and continue to be a place of worship. The housing will be named the Bishop Ronald H. Carter Manor, in honor of the late prelate, who died last November, at age 84. Carter’s vision for the community has become the driving force behind the project. A five-story, 76,669-squarefoot building will be constructed on just over two-thirds of an acre at the corner of Broadway and Rosedale Avenue. It will offer 75 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units, 48 of which will be reserved for renters with incomes no higher than 50 percent of the area median
income. Additionally, 23 onebedroom units will be set aside for those earning up to 70 percent of the AMI, and the remaining eight apartments will be reserved for those earning up to 30 percent of the AMI. In addition to being affordable, the aim of the development will be to foster a sense of community among its residents. The building will have a community room, a lounge and an outdoor courtyard. There will be 94 parking spaces on two levels for residents and church members. “This is absolutely needsdriven,” Peter Florey, a principal at D&F, said. “There’s a tre-
mendous need not only for economically accessible housing these days, but in particular for those who are our most vulnerable in our senior population. That includes folks who are more frail or more elderly, who are really challenged because assisted living is so expensive. That’s really why we feel that this is a good time for this project.”
To facilitate it, D&F has applied for tax incentives from the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency. It is seeking a 30-year payment-inlieu-of-taxes agreement. Carter’s daughter, Tanya, highlighted the significance of the project to the community. “People are living longer than they were years ago, and people Continued on pAge 6